[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H1587]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL SCHOOL WALKOUT

  (Mr. PANETTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, today, high school students got up from 
their desks and walked out of their classes to take a stand against gun 
violence and for school safety. From the east coast of Florida to the 
central coast of California, students left their classrooms for 17 
minutes to remember the 17 lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High 
School and to demand that Congress take action on gun violence.
  Now, today, Mr. Speaker, I commend you. We acted together to pass the 
STOP School Violence Act for school safety and security, but with all 
due respect, Mr. Speaker, that is not enough, and it is time we come 
together to pass commonsense reforms that have broad support across our 
Nation, from banning bump stocks to repealing the Dickey amendment, to 
fixing our system of background checks.
  We all appreciate the emotion and passion by the high school students 
all across our country, but we realize, as they do, that thoughts and 
prayers only go so far. So now it is up to Congress to govern not just 
by crisis, but actually by leadership to make our schools, our 
communities, and our country safer.

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